Adding a Nav to the truck will require you to add the gps antenna, and sometimes a remote disk drive, etc. That makes Nav installs a little tricky. And, that's probably what precludes a simple play-n-play addition of the OEM Nav into a FEH or MMH that did not come with a Nav unit from the factory.

Aftermarket units are light years ahead of the Ford unit. Alpine makes the Honda/Acura units. Double-DIN sized head units are a tight fit (depth-wise) on Escapes and may require some material removal (which is why Crutchfield and others report that they don't fit).

I would check out the Pioneer AVIC-Z1 before I spent $1500 - $2000 on any other unit. Dash mount units seem to be all the rage in my area.

 

anything "Can" be done, whether it is worth it or not is the question. There are a couple of wiring concerns with adding the factory Nav to a vehicle without it. I don't know how the unit gets its fuel and battery/hybrid info. Presumably there is a seperate harness that provides the data from the onboard OBD system. Your vehicle may or may not have it. There is a GPS antenna mounted under the dash that you would need to add. There is also the VSS wire which may or may not be included in the bundle that provides the system info previously mentioned.

In the end, I don't think it is worth it to try to add this overpriced, outdated nav unit. I think you can get a much nicer aftermarket headunit with Nav that is better and less expensive. You jut won't have the hybrid and fuel economy screens but you don't have them now either...

 

I have the stock NAV system, due to the ridiculously small screen size, I have the following question:

"Is it possible to add an ADDITIONAL after-market NAV unit like Pioneer/Alpine to play DVDs, MP3s WITHOUT losing the battery/fuel info on the stock unit? If yes, where would be a suitable location to mount it?"

 

I've thought about the same thing and hope to find a software based OBD program that will allow me to replicate the battery/MPG screens on a PC. Then I would do away with the dash unit, install a touchscreen in the dash and a car PC under the seat or in the center console. That would give me DVD, GPS, MP3, Sat radio and still have the battery/mpg info.

Short of that, it is certainly possible to add an additional unit, but I don't know where you could put it. You could POSSIBLY relocate the row of buttons (the flashers, set, info, pass airbag, etc) and squeeze in an aftermarket single DIN unit with a fold out screen. Otherwise, you would probably have to fabricate something to mount in the center console or on the top of the dash.